What happens in Area 51 stays in Area 51
by Kyouryoku Senshi
Summary: Written for the Fall X-Files episode exchange. Alternative ending for Dreamland II. What if the past few days' events were not forgotten?


Thanks so much to RationalCashew and MonikaFileFan for their beta help! Where would I be without you guys?! :D

Based on Nicole's prompt: "What if they didn't forget what had happened to them? I want to see Scully fill Mulder in on how Fletcher'd been acting towards her (especially the fact he'd been hitting on her and trying to woo her)".

Girl, I had a blast writing for you! I especially like so many people on Twitter re-watched this episode 2 days before the exchange and I had to keep tight-lipped. I hope you enjoy it! And with the whole Area 51 phenomenon lately!

"Let's go, Mulder," Scully pressed.

Mulder was vaguely aware of Scully's words as he stared back at the man whose life he just lived. He had just gone from wearing an ill-fitting suit to the comfort of his t-shirt and jeans in a matter of seconds and was at a loss for words at the utter confusion of it all.

Fletcher pursed his lips, almost begging him to say something as he carried a knowing glint in his gaze, a shared secret neither dared to speak.

"Mulder," Scully commanded, warning evident in her voice. "Now."

Mulder licked his lips as he managed to finally tear his gaze from Fletcher and followed Scully back to the car.

Getting into the driver's side and putting the car into reverse, Mulder managed to catch Fletcher's gaze once more and, if he hadn't known better, he would have caught the almost forlorn expression the older man wore on his face before he turned around and headed back along the desolate desert road.

Mulder almost felt sorry for the man having to return to a home where his wife and kids hated him. Though, maybe not, considering recent events. Him literally walking a mile in Fletcher's shoes seemed to have brought Fletcher and his wife back together at the end. He hated to admit it made him far more eager to get back to the bachelor lifestyle of Spooky Fox Mulder, something he never thought he would admit.

"You okay, Mulder?" Scully asked, startling him from his thoughts. He looked over at Scully, grinning ear to ear, despite himself.

"Yeah...yeah, everything is good, Scully."

Scully regarded him with a raised eyebrow as he turned back to the road. "You haven't said anything in over twenty minutes."

Mulder chuckled, tightening his grip on the steering wheel. "I'm just...processing everything. I mean, I literally just walked a mile in another man's shoes."

Scully observed him carefully. Once she was satisfied, she turned back toward the road. "That bastard slapped my ass, Mulder, and called me Dana. That was when I knew something was wrong."

Mulder nearly slammed on the breaks at the revelation. "He did not!" he gasped, hoping his humorous attempt concealed any visible jealousy.

"You were right there the second time, Mulder."

Grinning ear to ear, Mulder placed another sunflower seed between his teeth. "Dana Katherine Scully, did you just admit you believe in body swapping phenomenon?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Mulder saw Scully shaking her head. "I mean, it clearly wasn't you, Mulder."

"So you believe," Mulder continued to push until he was satisfied.

"That's not what I said."

"But, he was another Eddie Van Blundht!"

"Don't remind me," she groaned. "Eddie was just seriously lacking in intellect while Morris was just...well, seeking a sexual harassment suit. I feel bad for his wife."

Mulder knew she was trying to change the subject and chuckled as he rolled down the window, bidding adios to the sunflower shell.

"Oh, and Mulder," Scully continued. "You were Kersh's new golden boy."

"Me, Scully?" he asked, incredulous.

Scully smirked as she rolled down her window, A/C sixtying it in the middle of the desert. "Yeah, it was really something, Mulder."

Mulder chuckled. "Yeah? Well, I'll keep that in mind when I'm getting my ass chewed."

Mulder spent the next several hours pondering the events of the past few days as they flew back to D.C. He looked over at Scully who was dozing beside him and smiled. She never failed to come through for him.

With a deep sigh, he closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself for the aforementioned ass chewing that was certainly in store by Kersh upon their return.

"I'm sorry you didn't get what you were expecting out of that trip, Mulder," Scully lamented as they collected their luggage.

"Oh, I got more than I expected..but it's a shame that no one else knows but us...and, maybe, Fletcher," he said as he reached for Scully's luggage before she could shoot him an "I'm fine."

"You really think he remembers?"

"He has to, Scully. If not anyone else, at least, him. He gave me a look."

As they walked outside to flag a taxi, Scully sighed. "Well, I hope you have a good explanation tomorrow for our little unauthorized trip to Nevada."

As Mulder reached out to flag down a taxi, he turned to Scully.

"Would it be wishful thinking to expect Kersh to have his memory intact?"

Mulder sighed, fumbling with his keys as he walked down the hall to apartment 42. Never in his life did he expect to feel this good to be home. They had driven several hours to the nearest Nevada airport to return their rental only to sleep overnight in the airport before getting on the first flight back to D.C.

With a small smile, Mulder ran his hand over the cold, golden numbering before slipping the key into the lock and letting himself inside. Closing the door behind him, he flicked the switch and sat his things down on the couch. He started to remove his coat but instantly stopped in his tracks at the sight around him.

The interior of his apartment was impeccable. Floors clean, papers neatly stacked on his desk, clothes hung up. Hell, there was even wall art and a coat rack with jackets neatly hung.

"Wow," he mused aloud to the quiet apartment.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he slowly peered around the completely foreign looking apartment. Walking into his kitchen, he proceeded to open the door to the fridge. Rather than being met with a few beers, stale milk, and meat, he was greeted with wine and an array of healthy food that was actually edible.

Closing the fridge door, he walked back into the living room until he reached the door to his bedroom. He slowly pushed it open before he reached inside to turn on the bedroom light. He let out an audible gasp at the sight in front of him, which no longer consisted of his horde of junk, but a four postered bed that looked as if it came straight out of one of his movies. A leopard comforter covered the canopied bed.

"Ho-ly. Shit. You outdid yourself, Morris."

Mulder took in his surroundings as he walked further into the room, his eyes traveling upward until they reached a large, full-length mirror on the ceiling.

Shaking his head in amusement, Mulder allowed himself to fall onto the bed. He was startled by the sudden sloshing motion that commenced upon impact.

"What the...a water bed?"

Curiosity piqued, he moved further up the bed and sprawled out onto his back. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath before staring up at his own image reflecting back at him.

However, all he could think about at the moment was Scully. So, he quickly reached for the phone and dialed the number he memorized a thousand times over.

She picked up on the second ring.

"Scully."

"Hey, Scully. Guess what I'm doing right now."

He can almost hear the eye roll on the other end of the line.

"Mulder, it's late and I'd like to get some shut eye before the meeting with Kersh."

"Scully, I have a waterbed," he interjected.

A moment of silence passed through the line before he heard an audible sigh.

"Yeah, I know, Mulder."

Mulder jerked upright at the revelation. "Wait, what?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to know, quite frankly.

"Morris, he...invited me to dinner one night."

Mulder thumbed the bridge of his nose. "I'm not sure I like where this is going, Scully."

"I thought it was bizarre considering that constant state of your fridge whenever I've been over, but I didn't want to hurt your—his feelings. I have to admit though, his cooking was rather impressive."

"I can cook," Mulder said defensively. "I just...don't want to. I mean, I'm a single man, Scully. We spend so much of our time case after case."

"There's still time to get out of the car, Mulder."

"I'm serious, Scully."

"So am I."

"So, what happened?" he urged, not sure if he actually wanted to hear what came next. He jumped to his feet with a sudden distasteful glance at the bed before making his way into the kitchen and poured himself a glass of wine. Something was telling him that he was going to need it.

"Well, he decided to put on a Marvin Gaye song before offering me a glass of wine."

Mulder frowned, hoping Scully couldn't hear his obvious disgust on the other line, wishing he had kept some hard liquor around for such an occasion. Apparently, Morris was a wine guy.

"That should have been your first clue he wasn't me, Scully," he said, taking a long sip from the glass.

"Let me finish...I pulled out the handcuffs and—,"

Purple liquid was suddenly spewing all over the carpet as Mulder spat out the wine. "SCULLY...YOU, WHAT?!"

"I made him put them on before pulling out my gun. Jesus, Mulder, what did you think I was going to say?" Scully said, clearly agitated.

Mulder looked down at his half-empty glass as he shifted the phone to a more comfortable position beside his ear. "Oh."

"And that's when I confronted him."

Mulder involuntarily released a long breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Oh well, that's good."

"He babied me one too many times. Honestly, that's how I realized it wasn't you."

"Charming man. Now I see what his wife sees in him," he mused. "And you met Joanne. God Scully, that woman…let's just say she and Morris are perfect for each other."

Scully chuckled on the other line. "Well, the Gunmen will be glad to have you back, not that they'll remember. If it wasn't for their help, you probably wouldn't be here right now."

Mulder smiled. The guys always came through for him.

"Well...I just, I hope I don't end up a bitter middle aged man, Scully. With a wife and kids who hate my guts. Honestly, it makes the life of Spooky Fox Mulder not seem too bad after all. You know, getting out of the car isn't everything it's hyped up to be."

There was a silence on the other end of the line that cued Scully's contemplation.  
"You know Mulder, if I really wanted a normal life, I would have become a doctor after medical school."

Mulder chuckled. "Right. I knew that."

"It's late, Mulder. Go to bed. I'd like to get some sleep before we get grilled by Kersh if you don't mind."

"See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Mulder."

"Goodnight, Scully."

"Oh, and Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to change your answering machine."

Before Mulder could respond, he was met with the dial tone and sighed before placing the phone back onto the receiver.

As he reviewed the message machine prompts, a preview of the voicemail began to play. Spoken in his familiar voice, yet the words completely alien to him.

"I'm very busy entertaining a special guest. Leave a message and I'll get back to you."

"Fuck!"

His fingers flew to the delete button faster than he could think as the Erase and Re-record prompt came up. "This is Fox Mulder, please leave a message."

When he was through, he took another much-needed swig of his wine as he contemplated Scully's words to him. 'If I wanted a normal life, I would have become a doctor.' He couldn't help but admit though that he didn't want a normal life unless it was Scully who was by his side.

"Oh, Scully," he said wistfully.

On second thought, he wouldn't mind the white picket fence with two kids, as long as she was their mother. He smiled wistfully to himself as he walked into the living room and surveyed his surroundings. He walked into the kitchen and set the glass down with a clink. Until then, he was content with their life as Mr. and Mrs. Spooky.

THE END


End file.
